Cyclone in Mozambique kills five

Winds of up to 125 mph reported

kabc

By ABC7

MAPUTO, Mozambique Cyclone Jokwe, traveling with winds of up to 125 mph, made
landfall Saturday and has continued to move south along the
coastline.

The National Emergency Operations Center, which has declared the
highest red alert for coastal districts, said there was a serious
threat to shipping in the Mozambique Channel and told all fishing
boats and other vessels to stay out of the sea.

Belarmino Chivambo, spokesman for the National Institute for
Disasters Management, said one person died in the northern coastal
town of Moma and another four in Mogincual, further north.

The cyclone has wreaked havoc on Mozambique Island and Nampula
province in the north and the central Zambezia province. Zambezia
was badly affected by earlier flooding - the worst since 2001 when
800 people died. With the flood waters slowly subsiding, there are
fears the cyclone will bring new devastation.

The National Emergency Operations Center said three mosques, 35
schools and more than 400 homes have been destroyed.

Minister of State Administration, Lucas Chomera, who visited
Nampula Sunday, said provincial governments "are able to deal with
the situation, and we have instructed them to act quickly."